Advanced composite structures are becoming more widely used in the aircraft industry. Utilization of composites can result in substantial weight savings. However, it is often necessary to install metal fittings, such as hinges, into such structures to facilitate the introduction of loads. In areas where such fittings are installed, it is necessary to add additional material thickness in the composite structure in order to provide sufficient bearing area for the fasteners attaching the fitting to the laminates. For example, in a typical composite honeycomb structure using graphite epoxy material, the number of plies in the area of a hinge fitting may be 27 for an inner skin and 24 plies for an outer skin while the greater area of the panel away from the fitting consists of three inner skin plies and three outer skin plies. The creation of a lay up having this number of plies is quite time consuming which translates to increased costs. Further, the increased number of plies in the area of a metal fitting detracts from the purpose of utilizing composites--namely weight savings while adding cost.